Friday night headliner Tame Impala had been on stage for about 15 minutes when the site was evacuated because of powerful thunderstorms ripping through the area.

Justin White enjoys an optical illusion using 3D glasses during day one of the three day music festival Desert Daze at Lake Perris on Friday, October 12, 2018. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

Kevin Parker of the band Tame Impala performs on day one of the three day music festival Desert Daze at Lake Perris on Friday, October 12, 2018. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

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Kevin Parker of the band Tame Impala performs on day one of the three day music festival Desert Daze at Lake Perris on Friday, October 12, 2018. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

The band Tame Impala performs in the rain on day one of the three day music festival Desert Daze at Lake Perris on Friday, October 12, 2018. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

Emily Kokal of the band Warpaint performs on day one of the three day music festival Desert Daze at Lake Perris on Friday, October 12, 2018. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

The band Idles performs on day one of the three day music festival Desert Daze at Lake Perris on Friday, October 12, 2018. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

Stella Mozgawa of the band Warpaint performs on day one of the three day music festival Desert Daze at Lake Perris on Friday, October 12, 2018. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

Jarvis Cocker performs on day one of the three day music festival Desert Daze at Lake Perris on Friday, October 12, 2018. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

Attendees of the Desert Daze music festival interact with an art installation at Lake Perris on Friday, October 12, 2018. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

Fans of the band Tame Impala endure lightning and rain during day one of the three day music festival Desert Daze at Lake Perris on Friday, October 12, 2018. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

The band Warpaint perform on day one of the three day music festival Desert Daze at Lake Perris on Friday, October 12, 2018. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

Joe Talbot of the band Idles performs on day one of the three day music festival Desert Daze at Lake Perris on Friday, October 12, 2018. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

The band Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats perform on day one of the three day music festival Desert Daze at Lake Perris on Friday, October 12, 2018. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

Attendees of the Desert Daze music festival pose for a photograph in front of an art installation at Lake Perris on Friday, October 12, 2018. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

Fans hung around in their cars and huddled in campsites in hopes the show would resume, but the storms continued and were so insistent that in addition to pulling the plug on the show, the festival urged campers to evacuate the campgrounds and go home or find a hotel.

“We worked closely with CalFire, Park Rangers and meteorologists to make the difficult decision to halt the show and immediately implement our event’s contingency plan. We decided to end the remainder of the evening’s programming once it was clear the weather was going to continue to be a safety issue. The safety of our guests is our top priority,” the festival’s organizers said in a statement released Saturday.

Desert Daze’s organizers posted to social media that they were working to reschedule acts who weren’t able to play on Friday to other time slots over the weekend, but noted that Tame Impala would not be able to return neither Saturday nor Sunday because of previous performance obligations.

The festival responded to the parking issues by moving the box office, redirecting vehicles and creating a camping entry to alleviate congestion.

Before Friday night came to a halt, acts such as Jarvis Cocker, fronting his new project Jarv Is, Idles and Warpaint performed. Saturday night is headlined by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and will also include performances from Mercury Rev, Shannon and the Clams, Ex-Cult and more.

Vanessa Franko is the Digital Director of Entertainment for the Southern California News Group. The lure of palm trees and covering pop culture brought her to The Press-Enterprise in Riverside in 2006. Vanessa has reported on everything from the Palm Springs International Film Festival to the MLB All-Star Game as a reporter, photographer, videographer and on-camera personality. She's won awards for her coverage of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and for crime reporting in her home state of Maryland. Vanessa studied multimedia storytelling as a Knight Digital Media Center fellow in Dec. 2011 and has taught college courses in digital journalism. She's seen shows at every major concert venue in Southern California, but most special was when Paul McCartney played the high-desert roadhouse Pappy & Harriet's in Pioneertown for a couple hundred fans in Oct. 2016. Her album collection numbers in the thousands (including a couple hundred on vinyl) and when she isn't hunting for records, she and her husband like to check out the best in Southern California craft beer and watch sports. She also had a cameo in the 1992 Atlanta Braves highlight film, Lightning Strikes Twice!